The ladies of the LPGA Tour headed to the Royal Troon Old Course in Scotland for the AIG Women’s British Open and a $4.5 million purse in the first major tournament of the season and just the fourth event since the restart. Hinako Shibuno was the defending champion.
Thursday: Round 1
In the first round on the 7190-yard, par 71 layout, Amy Olson took the early lead with a four-under par round of 67. Marina Alex and Sophia Popov were the only other players under par, shooting a one-under 70. Ten players sat four off the pace at even, including Catriona Matthew, Anna Nordqvist, and Gaby Lopez. Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda were at +1, while Ariya Jutanugarn led a group of ten at +2. Daneille Kang salvaged a poor round with an eagle, birdie, birdie finish and came in at +5. Also at +5 were Shibuno and Stacy Lewis, while Brooke Henderson (+6) and Lexi Thompson (+7) were well off the pace.
Friday: Round 2
During Friday’s second round, winds in excess of 30 mph made scoring conditions extremely difficult. Only Minjee Lee and Inbee Park broke 70, both shooting rounds of 69. The leader at the halfway point was Dani Holmqvist who was at –1 after a round of 70. Austin Ernst and Popov were just a shot off the lead, while Lee and Lydia Ko led a five-player group and +1. Nelly Korda was still in the mix at +2, while Danielle Kang and Anna Nordqvist were lurking at +3. Bronte Law climbed 79 spots after a round of 70 put her at +8. First round leader Olson shot an 81, while Gemma Drybaugh posted an 80 and missed the cut. Other notables to miss the cut included Cristie Kerr (+13), defending champion Shibuno (+12), Lexi Thompson (+11), and Brooke Henderson (+10)
Saturday: Round 3
More benign conditions were present on Saturday's moving day, leading to 12 players shooting rounds in the 60’s. Katherine Kirk, 38-year old from Australia tied for the best round of the day at 67, leaving her tied for 10th at +3. Sophia Popov claimed the lead after an eagle and two birdies gave her a round of 67 and a –4 total. She held a relatively comfortable three-shot cushion of Minjee Lee and Jasmine Suwannapura, a 27-year old from Thailand. Caroline Masson moved into a three-way tie at +1 after a round of 68. Krsiten Gillman matched Masson’s 68 and was in a three-player group at +2. Mel Reid and Momoko Ueda made significant climbs up the leaderboard after also posting rounds of 68, while Michele Thompson and Johanna Gustavsson found Royal Troon extremely unforgiving, both posting rounds of at least 80.
Sunday: Final Round
During Sunday’s final round, Ally McDonald posted the low score of the day, shooting a 66 to tie for 22nd. Danielle Kang rebounded with a fine round of 67, finishing tied for 32nd at +8. The tournament came down to three players, Sophia Popov, Jasmine Suwannapura, and Minjee Lee. After four birdies on the front, Suwannapura finished at –5, while Lee was solid but couldn’t post the low round needed and finished third at –3. Sophia Popov started the day with a bogey, but was rock solid the rest of the way. After three birdies on the front nine, she built a three-shot cushion with two late birdies. A bogey on the 18th didn’t matter, she won by two strokes for her first career title.
Tournament Honorable Mentions
Notables include Inbee Park, who shot a 66 and finished 4th at –1. Momoka Ueda had a four-under par final round and finished at +1. Marina Alex climbed 26 spots after a 67 and tied for 14th at +4. Lydia Ko stumbled a bit to a 73 to finish at +4, while Ariya Jutanugarn had a solid week, finishing tied for 22nd.
The LPGA Tour returns to the United States for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship August 28-30. Sung Hyun Park is the defending champion of this event with a purse of $2.3 million and 500 points for CME Race to the Globe at stake.
Tournament Champion: Sophia Popov
Read about 2020 AIG British Women's Open Champion, Sophia Popov!
